Sunday, 22 October 2017

What I Bought From Glossier & My Initial Thoughts

When it comes to beauty brands, I can't think of one that's had as much hype and excitement surrounding it in recent years as Glossier. I almost take it for granted that everyone knows what I'm talking about when I start rattling on about my love and adoration for the blossoming beauty brand but just in case you you haven't heard of it before, Glossier is a beauty brand focusing on skin first, makeup second by Emily Weiss of Into The Gloss. I'd seen some of my favourite YouTubers, namely Anna from The Anna Edit, rave about the brand and seriously stock up every time they were in New York, which is what piqued my interest initially. Then I visited their showroom in NYC, the only physical store that they have at this time and that was it, the obsession had begun.

You might have seen my Shopping At The Glossier Showroom blog post but if you didn't, I was pretty restrained with what I bought then. Since a trip to New York and all that that entails can get pretty pricey really rather quickly, I went in with a real life budget, something I still haven't mastered when it comes to Sephora and only bought a handful of items. This meant that when I left the dreamy penthouse showroom that day, that I had a wishlist as long as my arm for when I next returned. When I got home and started using said products I really did feel like kicking myself for not trying more of the range but it was then revealed that the brand would begin shipping to the UK in October of this year and it honestly felt like Christmas had come early. I don't remember the last time I sat refreshing a website page that early in the day as I did on Glossier launch day, as it was marked in my calendar. I got even more excited when I heard that there would be NO FEES OR DUTIES on the orders as they have a UK warehouse. Honestly, that's the one thing that puts me off ordering from Sephora or other US stores because the fees and duties are beyond ridiculous so you can imagine how happy I was to hear that there would be none with Glossier.

So here's what I got in my first order;

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I decided to take advantage of some of the great offers that Glossier have. By buying bundles of products, for example two Cloud Paint blushes together instead of separately, you save £5. The same can be said for many of their biggest and bestselling products.

They have two Phase sets, Phase 1 and Phase 2, which are skincare and makeup based respectively and you also get to customise these sets by choosing which colour or flavour you'd like depending on the product. So let's start with Phase 1;

The Phase 1 set is made up of the much loved Milky Jelly Cleanser, the Priming Moisturizer and one Balm Dotcom. I'd already tried and loved the two Balm Dotcoms that I picked up in New York (I'd previously went for Birthday and Mint which are both so, so good) so I was happy to add another to my life, this time going for Coconut which smells absolutely unreal.

I'd also heard so many good things about the Milky Jelly Cleanser and I can confirm that it totally lives up to hype. It's a great everyday cleanser if I'm wearing little to no makeup or an ideal second cleanse on those days when I'm wearing more makeup. The consistency is unlike anything that I've tried before and it really does leave the skin feeling squeaky clean. The Priming Moisturizer is nice but not life changing as some of the other products on offer. I think the Priming Moisturizer Riche is more suited to me and my dry/dehydrated skin but I just couldn't get over the strong smell of it when I tried it in NYC, which is why I left it behind. The Phase 1 set is definitely good value for money but I just wasn't wowed by the Priming Moisturizer, which is a shame.

Next we have the the Phase 2 set. This comprises of the iconic and highly lauded Boy Brow, the Stretch Concealer and one of the Generation G Lipsticks. I wanted to try some of the makeup products and one of the Generation G Lipsticks, this time in the shade Crush, was at the top of my list so it made sense to order the Phase 2 set solely for the savings. I cannot rave about this lipstick enough! The colour gives me that just bitten lip look, it's buildable and it feels pretty hydrating on the lips too. I've already got my eye on a couple of the other shades, especially as I have a little £5 off code to use since my order arrived a day or so later than anticipated, which I completely understood upon seeing how many people were placing orders on my Twitter feed alone.

I wasn't sure whether to go for Clear or Blonde in the Boy Brow (please make an auburn shade Glossier!) so went for Clear and it's a great little addition to my brow routine. It doesn't leave my brows feeling crispy, like other brow gels have and my only slight issue is the fact that it would save me even more time if it had an auburn tint. The stretch concealer is really nice too and it's that lightweight that it almost feels like you're not wearing anything which is a nice change from some of the industrial style concealers that I often use. Again, you save £8 by buying the Phase 2 set, which definitely makes sense if you want to try these particular products.

Lastly when it came to makeup I finally got two of the Cloud Paints that had caught my eye in NYC. And when I saw that you could save some money when buying two of them, I took that as a sign to just go for it and order the two shades that I wanted most. I went for Puff and Dusk, both of which are so pretty. Again, like most of Glossier's makeup, they're really buildable and natural looking, something I certainly appreciate particularly when I'm going for that no makeup makeup look that I love so much. The packaging of these as well is just so clever and instantly took me back to my high school art class days.

Finally we have my biggest splurge and a repurchase. I bought the Moisturizing Moon Mask at the start of my holiday and it was one of the reasons that I had to buy a suitcase to bring my buys back with me, having traveled hand luggage only on the way out. I actually leave this mask on without washing it off, allowing it to soak in and really leave me with glowy, plumped up skin when I wake up in the morning. It was an easy repurchase and I have a feeling that I will be placing a Glossier order every few months to restock for the forseeable.

And what kind of Glossier fangirl would I be without the sweatshirt?! I resisted it in NYC as I just couldn't part with $60 that close to the end of my trip but when I heard that Glossier would be shipping to the UK I got saving for this dreamy grey sweater and now it's mine. It's ridiculously cosy and having wanted a grey marl sweater for years now, I feel like I can finally check that off my list. I was also so happy to receive a few more of their iconic pink pouches as they really do come in handy when travelling or if you regularly switch between handbags.

I also received a sheet of stickers, like you receive with every Glossier order as well as two samples, the first a sample of the Milky Jelly Cleanser which my Mum has already claimed and the second; a sample of Glossier's upcoming first fragrance, You. This could be very dangerous as it smells absolutely incredible. I've already got plans to place another order as soon as it launches officially, that and a few other things of course, as seen below;

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So there you have it. I did get 10% off so it wasn't as big a hit to my bank balance as I thought it would be but I can see my credit card getting a real workout over the next couple of months as I try more from them.

Have you heard or bought into the Glossier hype? If so, what did you order? If not, has anything in today's blog post caught your eye? And what brand are you totally championing at the moment?

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Ellis Tuesday is a beauty, fashion & lifestyle blog brought to you by Ellis, a self confessed shopaholic from Scotland with an overwhelming stash of beauty products and a love for all things leopard print.